, alabama, got hit hard. wide swaths of the port city plunged into darkness. >> the power went out, and we could hear it coming and we ran and jumped in the bathtub. >> reporter: churches, homes, schools, crumbled in the furious onslaught. >> you forgot that it was christmas for a while. >> reporter: tens of thousands of airline travelers across the u.s. were told to forget about getting to their destinations on schedule. the frustration was even felt in one cockpit. an american airlines pilot talking to his passengers were clearly fed up after waiting nearly five hours to take off. >> decisions are being made way above our heads by people that obviously, in my humble opinion, don't have a clue what they're doing. >> reporter: that flight, from dallas to las vegas, never took off. brad wheelis, abc news, los angeles. >> unbelievable. some areas in new england could get a foot of snow before this storm goes ahead and blows out to sea. >> and our coverage continues with the latest from accuweather and meteorologist andrew baglini. good morning. >> good morning, muhammad and brandi. thankfull